Originally Posted By LARRYG:The reason I am asking is that a young man (bubblehead IIRC) from King's Bay Naval Station had an Arisaka at the range today, complete with chrysanthemum and all matching numbers:

Rare..but not that rare. I own 3 Arisakas..2 have the mum...one is ground. Rifles brought home as trophys through official channels were supposed to be ground mummed...Official military shit so as not to offend the all-mighty emporer. This after the war...nobody that wasn't Japanese military gave a shit if mums were ground or not before combat ended in the Pacific

It ain't like the last Jap alive on some shit-hole island gathered all the Arisaka rifles and ground tthe mums off before getting his head blowed off with a Garand.....Mums got ground off at surrender(the big one)..and as a requirement for bringing a Japanese musket home as a trophy through official channels....lots of Arisakas came to the US fully mummed...only after the war were mums ground-off to help ease the mighty emporer's butt-hurt......

I have 2 Type 99's, one with intact mum. Plus a Type I that never had a mum. They were issued to the Navy/Marines as plain rifles. Only the Imperial Army rifles had the mum.

My father told me he bulldozed piles of Arisakas on Okinawa after the surrender. I've also seen a picture somewhere on the net of a barge filled with surrendered Arisakas taken out to sea and dumped over the side.

The United States of America is a republic. We consent to be governed; we do not consent to be ruled.

Originally Posted By LARRYG:The reason I am asking is that a young man (bubblehead IIRC) from King's Bay Naval Station had an Arisaka at the range today, complete with chrysanthemum and all matching numbers:

Personally, I am appalled at this especially given that it most likely is a bring back.

I know, many won't care, but this kind of stupidity should not be dismissed.

The kid ain't crazy about what was done but he got it cheap.

He is gonna look into trying to restore it to it's original configuration. I hope he can find the part.

JFC I hope he beat the former owner to death with a cactus...

Whats up with the screws in the receiver? Part of the bubba job?

I've got a Type-38 in "good" or "pretty good" condition, mum intact but dustcover missing. When my dad was a kid, he yanked it out of a trash can on the east side of Chicago, used his shoe laces to tie it to his bike's handlebars, and too it home...

The former owner was USMC, killed the former owner on Guadalcanal, took it home, and hung it over the fireplace over his wife's constant protests. When he died she just threw it out....

I find something nostalgic about sporterized WWII bring backs. That is, the ones that a G.I. brought home, found he needed a hunting rifle, and modified his enemies weapon to suit his needs. There's a historic appeal in that. Not some imported C&R rifle that's been Bubba'd. It's all in the provenance, as far as I'm concerned.

My Type 99 w/intact mum was brought home from Guam by an Army photographer. He rode in the belly of converted P-38 Lightnings and took photos of occupied islands before invasions. He was my wife's step-father.

The Type I was brought back from Okinawa by a Marine Raider friend of my MIL. He's still alive.

The United States of America is a republic. We consent to be governed; we do not consent to be ruled.

Originally Posted By LARRYG:The reason I am asking is that a young man (bubblehead IIRC) from King's Bay Naval Station had an Arisaka at the range today, complete with chrysanthemum and all matching numbers:

Did pistols not get the chrysanthemum? I have a Nambu type 98, in pristine condition. My grandfather brought it back from a Zero pilot he shot down with a tank (fascinating story!). But, no flower on it. Markings indicate it was made in May of '44.

Originally Posted By ARinKCMO:Did pistols not get the chrysanthemum? I have a Nambu type 98, in pristine condition. My grandfather brought it back from a Zero pilot he shot down with a tank (fascinating story!). But, no flower on it. Markings indicate it was made in May of '44.

Originally Posted By P08:As I recall MacArthur allowed the Japs to deface many small arms before surrender to help them save face.

MacArthur was an ass. He let them surrender with out feeling like they surrendered, he allowed them the keep the Emperor, he did this with the Arisakas, he made sure that the war crime trials went a lot easier on them than the Germans. He ruled the Pacific as a virtual potentate after the war.

Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.Ayn RandFBHO

Originally Posted By P08:As I recall MacArthur allowed the Japs to deface many small arms before surrender to help them save face.

MacArthur was an ass. He let them surrender with out feeling like they surrendered, he allowed them the keep the Emperor, he did this with the Arisakas, he made sure that the war crime trials went a lot easier on them than the Germans. He ruled the Pacific as a virtual potentate after the war.

How long after Pearl did they attack the Philippines?

Planes were still sitting on the ground.

If it's a Colt, it's a copy of an original ArmaLite.

I am not LARRYG36.

Racing is life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting.

If your AR10 is marked Geneseo, IL, it's still an AR10 no matter what some people say.

Originally Posted By ARinKCMO:Did pistols not get the chrysanthemum? I have a Nambu type 98, in pristine condition. My grandfather brought it back from a Zero pilot he shot down with a tank (fascinating story!). But, no flower on it. Markings indicate it was made in May of '44.

To the serious collector the Mums don't really matter if they are ground on a rare example.

Type, Series and Manufacturer means more as does the presence of a dust cover, aa sights, and mono-pod if it was issued with those. Find you a late "rope-hole" stocked Type 99 and the damn Mum coud be completly gone and it would not matter. Same with the take-down models and carbines.

As a accumulator of Jap. rifles I prefer them just struck instead of ground on the mundane specimens but I would not pay much of a premium for a intact Mum. Heck a sling would be something I'd pay a lot extra for first as orgional slings are hard to find and expensive.

A ground Mum is just a good way to convince those that don't know any better to reduce the price on a desirable rifle.

Originally Posted By ARinKCMO:Did pistols not get the chrysanthemum? I have a Nambu type 98, in pristine condition. My grandfather brought it back from a Zero pilot he shot down with a tank (fascinating story!). But, no flower on it. Markings indicate it was made in May of '44.

Originally Posted By ARinKCMO:Did pistols not get the chrysanthemum? I have a Nambu type 98, in pristine condition. My grandfather brought it back from a Zero pilot he shot down with a tank (fascinating story!). But, no flower on it. Markings indicate it was made in May of '44.

Originally Posted By 1srelluc:To the serious collector the Mums don't really matter if they are ground on a rare example.

Type, Series and Manufacturer means more as does the presence of a dust cover, aa sights, and mono-pod if it was issued with those. Find you a late "rope-hole" stocked Type 99 and the damn Mum coud be completly gone and it would not matter. Same with the take-down models and carbines.

As a accumulator of Jap. rifles I prefer them just struck instead of ground on the mundane specimens but I would not pay much of a premium for a intact Mum. Heck a sling would be something I'd pay a lot extra for first as orgional slings are hard to find and expensive.

A ground Mum is just a good way to convince those that don't know any better to reduce the price on a desirable rifle.

Not long ago Southern California Gun (since closed due to ATF and CA DOJ ) had a number of Type 38s and Type 99s some with mums, some without. IIRC one Type 30 as well. The prices were all on the low side of $300 IIRC.

Here's my grandfathers bring backs. I've also got one additional sword, the sheath for the bayonet and the nabu holster also has the spare magazine and spare firing pin.
He was a commanding officer on the New Jersey.

I've got two of them, a 38 and 99 i believe, in pieces at the house. Sporter jobs from the 60s that were never finished. Both with unground mums. Thinking of finishing the job someday, but I need something odd to do to them. Maybe 300blk or 300 savage or something weird.

Mine has mum, aa sites and dust cover. Stock was all cracked to hell very worn finish would love to know the story how it got here where its been etc. I got the stock all fixed and shot her fun rifle to shoot.

Originally Posted By jaflowers:
Here's my grandfathers bring backs. I've also got one additional sword, the sheath for the bayonet and the nabu holster also has the spare magazine and spare firing pin.
He was a commanding officer on the New Jersey.

Originally Posted By jaflowers:
Here's my grandfathers bring backs. I've also got one additional sword, the sheath for the bayonet and the nabu holster also has the spare magazine and spare firing pin.
He was a commanding officer on the New Jersey.